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Global Defense Initiative
The Global Defense Initiative (GDI) is the global government of Earth. It was founded in accordance with the United Nations Global Defense Act (UNGDA), on the date of October 12, 1995Finger, Penina, Adam Isgreen, and Erik Yeo. Command & Conquer: Instruction Manual. Las Vegas, Nevada: Westwood Studios, 1997., as a united military force for global peacekeepingStojsavljević, Rade, and O'Miley Ryan. Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun: Operations Manual. Las Vegas, Nevada: Westwood Studios, 1999.. The GDI's initial goal was to preserve world order by combating global terrorism, epitomized by its nemesis the Brotherhood of Nod, but eventually outgrew its original mandate to become a world government. History Origins GDI's origins can be traced back to the heights of the Second Great World War. After a Soviet Tactical Deep Battle Operation resulted in the collapse of the Allied Greek front during the winter of 1947, Greece was overrun by Soviet Armored and Infantry divisions. By the spring of 1948, the Soviets had reached the outskirts of Athens, the capital of Greece. In a dual attempt to stall the Soviet advance and give Greece's King, Prime Minister, and other government officials enough time to be evacuated by Chinook helicopters, Allied forces fortified Athens and settled in to defend the capital city. At first, the Soviet Infantry Divisions were halted and beaten back giving time for government officials to evacuate. However, as Soviet Armored Divisions reinforced their infantry for the prolonged Siege of Athens, the Allied casualty and death toll became increasingy high. By the third day of the battle, a stalmemate between Allied and Soviet forces had occured. USSR Field Marshal Radic Gradenko, in a change of tactics to overturn the stalemate and demoralize the Allied Greek forces, ordered the bombardment of Greek UNESCO historical and heritage sites throughout Athens. Many monuments were damaged but, in a devestating event that disheartened Greek Allies, the Acropolis of Athens was reduced to ruins by a Soviet V-missile. Shorty after, the Allies retreated from Athens and, within a month, Greece had fallen to the Soviets. The Siege of Athens resulted in the deaths of over 40,000 Athenian civilians. Many historians view this moment as a pivotal change in the war. While tactically advantageous, the actions perpetrated by the Soviets was politically disastrous for the USSR. The complete destruction of the Acropolis and the high civilian death toll shocked and outraged world leaders and galvanized global support for the Allies. In a 281-7 vote, Allied diplomats led the UN in approving a unique military initiative aimed at increasing global Allied support. The passed proposal called for a global defense agency to be temporarily estasblished. This "United Nations Global Defense Agency" or "UNGDA" became a special forces peacekeeping group. It is unknown how much effect this agency had during the war or what missions they carried out during the war and afterwards as those missions were never declassified. Financial cutbacks to UN military funding after WWII officially ended further shrouded the organization from public eye although, it later became classified by certain high profile UN officials as "Special Operations Group Echo, Black Ops 9". There is some speculation that Tanya Adams may have become the commander of this peacekeeping spec-ops force soon after the war as she also disappeared from the public eye, this despite her status as an international hero. The GDI, as a military army, navy, and air force, was officially formed on October 12, 1995, by the final act of the United Nations Global Defense Initiative, in response to the rise of the Brotherhood of Nod and its efforts to gain power in unstable, third-world nations.Selinske, Joseph, and Amy Farris. Command & Conquer: Renegade: Operations Manual. Las Vegas, Nevada: Westwood Studios, 2002. Before the First Tiberium War began, the GDI followed its mandate under the orders of the United Nations Security Council. First Tiberium War During the First Tiberium War, GDI fought Nod forces on a multitude of fronts, led by American brigadier general Mark Jamison Sheppard. Eventually, Nod propaganda efforts painted GDI as being responsible for atrocities such as the slaughter of the entire population of Bialystok, through a series of false news broadcasts recorded by Greg Burdette, which forced GDI to pull back from many territories which were then quickly taken over by Nod supporters. This culminated in the UN becoming forced to discontinue its public funding of GDI due to the fear of public backlash. Nod began assaulting GDI strongholds everywhere, believing that the organization had been severely weakened by these manipulative efforts. As it turned out, the UN had faked their financial withdrawal in an attempt to outwit Nod's leader Kane, a brilliant and charismatic man. The plan was successful, and Nod forces were greatly surprised to find the bases they were attacking were heavily fortified. Most attacks were complete victories for GDI. Fighting continued, however, until GDI operatives finally located Nod's main global headquarters, the so-called "Temple of Nod", just outside of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Temple was destroyed after the Nod compound was besieged, Kane was pronounced dead, and Nod was crippled, effectively ending the First Tiberium War. Note: Two separate endings of the GDI campaign in Command & Conquer exist. One of them depicts GDI using the Ion Cannon to destroy the Temple of Nod, with Kane embracing the incoming beam. The other depicts an explosion in the Temple causing debris to fall on Kane. It is unknown which is considered canon, but fans generally presume the former. During this time, GDI protected leading Tiberium researchers like Dr. Ignatio Mobius, whose efforts have proven invaluable in GDI's and the public's understanding of Tiberium, its capabilities, and hazards. Second Tiberium War With the destruction of the Brotherhood's Sarajevo Temple, a period of relative peace dawned, allowing GDI to focus on researching Tiberium. However, GDI forces never recovered Kane's body, which incited tabloid headlines and rumors of the continued underground existence of the Brotherhood. Secretly, GDI had a mole within the Brotherhood - general Hassan. Despite this, on 2 September 2030, GDI bases around the world found themselves under heavy fire from Nod units. Aboard the [[GDSS Philadelphia|GDSS Philadelphia]], GDI's space station that was used as a global command center, GDI's top brass was surprised by the attacks. Shortly after their internal systems noted hotspots in numerous locations around the world, their communication equipment was hacked by Nod in order for Kane to reveal himself to be alive, thereby declaring his return to the global political and military scene. General James Solomon assigned field commander Michael McNeil the task of leading the efforts of retaliation and later counter-attacking Nod, thus initiating the Second Tiberium War. GDI then first made use of new technologies such as mechanized walkers like Wolverines and Titans, drop pods, and sonic weaponry implemented in disruptors. While locations like Phoenix Base were targets of minor attacks, the compound in Hammerfest was entirely captured by Nod, but was quickly retaken. During the course of the war, GDI became affiliated with the society of Tiberium-mutated humans known as the Forgotten by making contact with their elite soldier Umagon on a faked Scrin ship. GDI took out Nod's Divination project facility as they rescued the Forgotten leader Tratos and, with their help, destroyed Nod's chemical missile plant and Banshee prototype facility. In the final battle in Cairo, having defeated the Nod defenses around the Nod pyramid, McNeil personally entered the pyramid itself and faced off with Kane, impaling him with a steel beam, and rescuing Umagon who was a hostage there. GDI subsequently secured the mysterious Tacitus device, which held information on Tiberium that they had lacked, among else. Firestorm Crisis Shortly after Kane's second "death", it was revealed that the vaccine which Tratos had developed and had administered to his kin Umagon proved to be ineffective in curing or even halting Tiberium mutations within a human being, instead grossly accelerating mutations. Meanwhile, Tiberium infestation increasingly continued to threaten the future and the very survival of humanity on Earth. GDI thus began to focus the majority of its resources and efforts into unlocking the secrets of the Tacitus while defending themselves against the remainder of Nod forces. Tratos, however, was assassinated by the Brotherhood. A massive ion storm crashed the GDI command ship, the Kodiak, while it was transporting the Tacitus, and cut off their link with the GDSS Philadelphia, so ground control of reachable GDI forces was assumed by the Southern Cross base led by general Paul Cortez. This left GDI with no alternative other than to attempt to capture the Brotherhood's artificial intelligence unit named CABAL, which was rumored to be able to decode all the information contained within the Tacitus device by means similar to those of Tratos. Anton Slavik, who led what was left of the Brotherhood's armed forces after the conclusion of the Second Tiberium War, was also working on reactivating CABAL in order to regain their logistical and tactical advantages, and more importantly to prevent the Brotherhood of Nod from fracturing into splinter groups again as it had done so after the conclusion of the First Tiberium War. GDI was able to capture and reactivate CABAL, forcing Nod to steal and reprogram an existing GDI EVA unit. When GDI recovered the final piece of the Tacitus, however, CABAL suddenly turned on both GDI and Nod in a move that would reveal itself to be part of an independent and premeditated plan of the AI itself. CABAL's increasing threat eventually led to an uneasy alliance between GDI and Nod, with both armies destroying two fronts of CABAL's cyborg production and resource gathering facilities. Their missions were a success, with GDI and Nod mounting a final assault on the renegade artificial intelligence's system core. With all pieces of the Tacitus recovered, its segments merged together, and GDI managed to recover a large amount of data from the alien deviceWestwood Studios, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun: Firestorm. GDI mission 9: "GDI 09:Core of the Problem".. Despite Dr. Gabriella Boudreau's breakthrough in the early 2030s, however, GDI's progress in interfacing with the Tacitus continued to be slow.Electronic Arts Los Angeles, Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath. Nod Field Recon, "The Tacitus". Interbellum After the Firestorm Crisis, with the Brotherhood apparently defeated and splintered once again, GDI's priority shifted from war to Tiberium containment, ecological recovery, space research, and economic prosperityVerdu, Michael. 2006-09-29. Technology in 2047. Mirror: Technology in 2047. C&C3 X360 Page. 2010-02-21.. This new focus resulted in a decline in GDI's military capabilities, leading to worldwide closure of GDI basesElectronic Arts Los Angeles, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. GDI Archives, "GDI Base Closure".. It also led to the retirement of several military technologies, including walkers, HoverTech, and drones, due to cost and reliability concerns. Several military officials were unsatisfied with how the majority of GDI's R&D budget was shifted toward Tiberium control, most notably General Joshua Mitchell, a decorated veteran of TWII, who campaigned for increased research spending for new combat technology. Mitchell argued that while Nod may have been defeated, it would be foolish to assume that no successor would take its place. After a lengthy, volatile hearing, GDI agreed to fund a new experimental combat technology division under Mitchell. Dubbed the 'Steel Talons' by Mitchell's admirers, this elite, unconventional combat battalion quickly rose to prominence in the splinter faction skirmishes that followed Nod's implosion, becoming known both for their ruthless efficiency on the battlefield and for the shroud of secrecy they maintained at all other times.Electronic Arts Los Angeles, Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath. Nod Background, "Steel Talons - Origins". The focus on Tiberium abatement yielded new ways to combat the alien substance. GDI engineers discovered the resonant frequency of Tiberium, and developed Sonic Resonators capable of breaking down Tiberium crystalsElectronic Arts Los Angeles, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. GDI Archives, "Tiberium Primer".. In order to assist in Tiberium abatement operations, GDI created a new branch of the military, Zone Operations Command, dedicated solely to operating within areas of high Tiberium infestationElectronic Arts Los Angeles, Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath. Nod Background, "ZOCOM - Origins".. These efforts allowed GDI to turn back the tide of Tiberium growth, one notable example of GDI's victory in the war against Tiberium is New Eden, the first Blue zone to be reclaimed from a Yellow zoneElectronic Arts Los Angeles, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. GDI mission 12: "Munich".. Before the onset of the Third Tiberium War, GDI controlled all of the uncontaminated Blue zones and some of the contaminated, but habitable, Yellow zones across the planet. With the Blue zones consisting of a mere 20% of the Earth's surface, the majority of the world's population lived in Yellow zones, in which the Brotherhood still operated unchallenged, taking advantage of the chaos to recruit members and conceal their military infrastructure. Neither side controlled the Red zones, areas where Tiberium contamination levels are too high to support human life.Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars intro cinematics. Los Angeles, California: Electronic Arts Los Angeles, 2007. Over time, power and sovereignty have been gradually ceded to GDI and the national identities of the participating countries have faded. This process has reached its final stages by the late 2040s: while there are still technically individual member nations, the reality is that GDI has become a unified political and military super-state.Electronic Arts Los Angeles, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. GDI Archives, "The Global Defense Initiative". Third Tiberium War However, this period of peace was short lived, as Nod's breakup was a mere illusion. The Brotherhood of Nod struck quickly, infiltrating the Goddard Space Center and disabling GDI's A-SAT (Anti-Satellite) defense systems, responsible for defending GDI's space operations from hostile attacks. Nod then launched a nuclear missile at the Philadelphia while GDI's leaders were in council aboard the space station, critically damaging GDI's command structure and causing widespread chaos. Meanwhile Nod forces launched a coordinated strike against GDI-controlled Blue Zones worldwide. GDI repelled Nod from the Blue Zones after several days of intense fighting, and launched a counter-attack upon what was thought to be a Nod chemical weapons facility in Egypt. It was quickly revealed that this facility was researching and developing a Liquid Tiberium Bomb. GDI crippled Nod's nuclear capabilities in Cairo before proceeding to Sarajevo and using an Ion Cannon on the Brotherhood's Temple Prime by order of acting GDI director Redmond Boyle, against the warnings of General Jack Granger. The Ion Cannon hit a liquid Tiberium deposit beneath Temple Prime, vaporizing it and causing a large chain reaction that wiped out what remained of Sarajevo and the surrounding regions, while at the same time spreading deadly Tiberium fallout all over the Yellow Zones of Eastern Europe. The resulting death toll was catastrophic. Just as GDI thought it had won the war, alien invaders known as the Scrin, apparently attracted by the liquid Tiberium explosion, arrived and wrought havoc upon GDI and Nod alike. GDI deep space scans picked the Scrin up even before they arrived, and in a state of panic Redmond Boyle rashly ordered the entire southern hemisphere's network of Ion Cannons to be activated and unleashed on the aliens. This only served to send 39 Drone Ships crashing into Red Zones throughout the world. Upon landing, the aliens quickly began striking at blue zones all over the globe with deadly precision. GDI forces scrambled to put up an effective resistance, but after their battles with Nod were spread very thin. After repelling the invaders from several of their blue zones, GDI discovered the invaders' seemingly random attacks were just a distraction from the massive, monolithic towers that were being constructed for an unknown purpose and systematically destroyed them. Unbeknownst to GDI, Kane resurfaced once more to end an inner power struggle with one of his generals and sought to control one of the Scrin Towers in an effort to learn more about Tiberium and the alien's technology. As the war ended, only one tower survived the conflict, having been protected from attack until it was completed and became invulnerable to GDI attacks. GDI stopped the invasion and planned to keep the remaining Tower, which ended under Nod control, supposedly inactive and harmless. A number of Scrin invaders were forced to flee for the time being. It is unknown whether or not the first Scrin incursion was a full invasion or something else. Post-TWIII GDI emerged as the apparent victor in the Third Tiberium War, having once again driven Nod underground and neutralized the Scrin harvesting forces on Earth. The GDI, and therefore Earth, was reigned with silence and peace which lasted several years. However, much to their surprise, that silence was broken when in 2052, Nod forces, under the command of the experimental combat AI of the Marked of Kane, known only as LEGION, raided the Rocky Mountains Complex and reclaimed the Tacitus for its creator, who is none other than Kane himself, who has in fact been hiding underground. Despite heavy resistance from ZOCOM, the Steel Talons and the baseline GDI forces stationed there, including the formidable Mammoth Armored Reclamation Vehicle, they were unprepared for the assault of LEGION's cybernetic army. 2062: A dire situation GDI's Tiberium abatement efforts failed after the Third Tiberium War. Tiberium unexpectedly underwent yet another evolution, now growing at such an aggressive rate that it spread across the entire planet unchecked by all conventional means. By 2062, Tiberium infestation was so great that it was predicted that the human race would be completely wiped out within a matter of years (just as the Scrin had earlier expected). Kane resurfaced once more and, given the dire situation, travelled to GDI Global Headquarters in Manchester to form an uneasy alliance.Command & Conquer 4 Q&A - Exclusive First Details, page 2 Command & Conquer 4 Q&A - Exclusive First Details, page 2. GameSpot. July 9, 2009. While the alliance with Nod has proven to be tremendously beneficial towards GDI and the human race in general, having entered a new Golden Age after finally pushing back the spread of Tiberium and reclaiming much of the planet, it has also had the unexpected side-effect of splintering GDI. Much of GDI's military forces and civilian population resent working with Nod, whom they still consider to be a band of fanatics and terrorists, and the old wounds left over from the previous Tiberium Wars have yet to fully heal in the minds of the populace. This is particularly true amongst segments of the military, who consider Kane to be a soulless murderer and see the alliance as a betrayal of GDI's principles and the millions lost to Nod violence, foreshadowing a possibility of a potential civil war within GDI itself. The Incursion War GDI was not the only organisation to be divided by the new alliance. Many Nod followers also believed this to be a direct contradiction to the goals that were laid down by Kane himself. As a result, they split from the Nod Loyalists and started a separated but highly destructive guerilla war against both Kane, GDI and the construction of the Tiberium Control Network. The Nod Separatists rallied around Gideon, an outspoken critic of Kane, as their leader and staged heavy attacks on the Blue and Yellow Zones. At one stage, Nod separatists banded together and attacked Paris, signifying the start of the Incursion War, as well as hijacked the GST Methuselah to crash it down on Chicago. The latter was saved by a heroic GDI commander - at the cost of losing his eyesight in the process. He would later on play an important role in the Ascension Conflict. Despite GDI advancements in Zone Armor and the development of the Hunter Tanks in combating Nod Separatist Flame Tanks, it could not protect the TCN and pursue the Separatists at the same time, leaving the GDI military in disarray. However, with the expansion of the GDI airforce and the development of the Crawler in 2073, the GDI military was reorganised into three branches: Offense, Defense and Support classes. A year after the introduction of the Crawlers, GDI and Nod Loyalists were able to protect the TCN constructions and crushed the Separatists as a military force, driving Gideon and the other Separatist leaders into hiding. It was during this period when TCN construction was partially completed did GDI gain renewed funds from the new method of harvesting Tiberium. The renewed funding enabled the GDI military to reintroduce the mechanised walkers such as the Titan and the Mammoth Mk. II that were gradually shelved after the Firestorm Crisis, much to the delight of the veterans of the Second Tiberium War. The GDI Council would also direct the funds to rebuild the areas that were previously scarred by Tiberium, most notably the city that would become the capital city of the GDI government: New Adana. Ascension Conflict With the TCN nearing completion the alliance between GDI and Nod still held, although the 15 years of tension between them still existed. Despite the coming of a new Golden Age, GDI's political situation was on shaky ground because of the alliance, which was not helped by Gideon's raids. Indeed on 1 May 2077, Gideon attempted to assassinate Kane at the TCN opening ceremony in New Adana, sparking the Fourth Tiberium War twelve hours later. The GDI-Nod alliance still held as they initially battled against the Nod separatists, which included the protection of both Kane and GDI General Secretary Evelyn Rios. GDI extremists led by Colonel Louise James followed their orders and worked alongside the Nod loyalists despite their suspicions of Kane's motives. For a week, Gideon's propaganda was spurring many civilians living in the impoverished yellow and red zones to topple GDI and Kane. Gideon particularly targeted Colonel James's aggressive actions against the Separatists, which divided the military and political leadership. On 6th May, New Adana was attacked by Gideon's supporters. GDI managed to uphold their mandate and take back the city; however Kane was forced to fight through Colonel James' forces to reach the New Adana TCN Hub. Unable to convince Rios of Kane's actions, James decided to act on her suspicions and started investigating Kane's actions. Collecting evidence of Kane's attempts to supposedly bring back the Scrin via the TCN and the Scrin tower, and having avoided assassination by Kane's own forces, James confronted Rios and General Riggs with the information. However both dismissed her, and thus she declared martial law on New Adana, effectively turning the 15-year internal strife within GDI into a full-fledged civil war. Although New Adana had fallen to the rogue GDI forces, James and her crew onboard the GST Tzadik were arrested and imprisoned by Riggs' GDI marines. However, the crew escaped and pursued Kane and his Nod followers to Threshold 19. James attempted to assassinate the Nod messiah but could not validate her kill. This resulted in both rogue and loyal GDI forces fighting Nod for control of the TCN, thereby terminating the shaky alliance. GDI managed to secure the tower but Kane and all Nod followers managed to sync the tower with the help of Commander Parker through his optical implants and Ascended. With Colonel James being unaccounted for, GDI is reunited once again under Rios, ending the brief but costly Fourth Tiberium War. The activation of the Tower proved to be the final piece in the TCN's completion, as Tiberium growth is slowly receded around the nodes. With all remaining Nod followers having disappeared, GDI remains as the sole planetary superpower on Earth. Yet, GDI itself was wary of the new Golden Age, for the Scrin were still out there, and some were indeed skeptical of whether Kane had permanently disappeared from public eye. Military doctrine WIP Third Tiberium War After the end of the Second Tiberium War, and the decrease in Nod activities, GDI's new focus resulted in a decrease in outlays for new conventional weapon systems. At the same time, investment in space programs for both civilian and military use has exploded. GDI adopted a military strategy that relies on a mix of very high-end weapons and command and control systems in space coupled with cost-effective force projection on the ground. With highly advanced space assets, including an upgraded Ion Cannon network, drop pods, orbital artillery deployment, and other space-based weapons and intelligence systems, supporting ground forces equipped with basic weapon systems that are rugged, reliable, and relatively inexpensive to produce and maintain. Incursion War and Ascension Conflict After the construction of the Tiberium Control Network began in 2062, GDI forces have been stretched thin attempting to defend the global TCN sites from Nod Separatists. Situation only worsened when the Separatists banded together and launched a series of worldwide hit and run attacks on TCN construction sites in 2070. With the construction of the TCN stalled and the GDI military in disarray, GDI commanders realized that they could not defend the TCN and, at the same time, pursue and destroy the Separatist forces. As a result, GDI began an overhaul of the military and its arsenal, centering it on the concept of defending the global TCN. The GDI military was formally restructured into Offense, Defense, and Support branches. Each branch was equipped with a Mk. VII MCV, or Crawler, optimized for its role. Each Crawler is a mobile base system, capable of constructing every unit and structure in the GDI arsenal, without the need to create an entire base dedicated to that purpose. These Crawlers are deployed from GDI's Global Stratospheric Transports in drop pods, allowing a Crawler to respond to threats anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice. Technology level GDI technological development has been brought about by the financial support of the United Nations, who had founded them. Developments in recent years include sonic weaponry and quickly specialized hovercraft. GDI has countered Nod's increasing arsenal of lasers with railguns, fielded by everything from Mammoth Tanks to Commandos, and has also researched into powered armour technologies. The pinnacle of GDI military technology, the Ion cannon, is a space-based energy weapon of mass destruction is capable of obliterating just about anything with pinpoint accuracy. GDI also pioneered the use of mechanized walkers and developed the ORCA aircraft series of VTOL aircraft, a unique design which incorporates VTOL technology into fast ground attack aircraft. Following the First Tiberium War, military research and development rapidly increased, with the development of a wide number of technologies. space exploration, mechanized walkers, and HoverTech were some of the technological achievements of GDI by the Second Tiberium War. However, due to cuts in budget and new GDI policies after 2036, GDI has phased out its more expensive and exotic technologies, such as most of its Mechanized walkers and HoverTech, replacing them with cheaper, more reliable technologies. GDI hasn't forgone all of its more exotic technologies however. Some of the walkers are still in service, though they are mainly used by the Steel Talons experimental division. The Juggernaut is the only mainstream walker left in use while the Steel Talons used the Titan Mk. II, Wolverine Mk. II, and Behemoth in their forces. GDI also hasn't completely abandoned hover technology either. In the interbellum between the Firestorm Crisis and the Third Tiberium War, GDI developed a dedicated anti-aircraft vehicle, the Slingshot. GDI also retooled the Shatterer, another hovercraft which was originally developed for civilian use, but GDI realised their potential and converted them for military use in the opening stages of the Third Tiberium War. By the time of the Ascension Conflict, many GDI vehicles utilize hover technology; such as the Shockwave and Sandstorm, even engineers. GDI lags behind Nod in other areas, however. While GDI has a greater presence in outer space, and can afford larger, more expensive tanks, Nod has outpaced them in terms of optic camouflage and laser technology. Nod's disregard towards ethical guidelines means that Nod is the world's leader in Cybernetics and the military applications of Tiberium, two areas where GDI is reluctant to begin research. However, GDI is unrivalled in terms of Tiberium reclamation technology and second only to the Scrin in terms of space-based technology. Their global headquarters was the space station [[GDSS Philadelphia|GDSS Philadelphia]] until it was destroyed, and they also have orbital facilities to house, store and maintain military forces in preparation for a rapid deployment anywhere on Earth via dropships and drop pods. Of particular importance is their network of orbital Ion cannons which act as both tactical and strategic array of superweapons. All were used to their maximum potential throughout the wars. They apparently maintained their dominance of space even during the Scrin invasion. Their efforts to reverse the environmentally catastrophic effects of Tiberium has led to the development of several technologies against Tiberium infestation, a technological area in which Nod and the Scrin have traditionally shown little interest in. Most of these center around the breakthrough discovery of Tiberium's harmonic resonance frequency which, at least for a period of time, allowed GDI to contain and even push back Tiberium growth. Examples include the Sonic Emitters, which was also deployed as extremely effective base defence, the Sonic Repulsor Field and the Shatterer. Prior to the Third Tiberium War their efforts have had some success in converting some areas into Blue zones, such as New Eden. However, in the years following the next evolution of Tiberium rendered GDI's Harmonic Resonance technology became nearly useless and all of GDI's reclamation efforts were quickly negated. GDI research is carried out in a variety of specialized institutions worldwide. Futuretech Labs is a prominent example, and the research staff was located in New Eden, until the initial Scrin invasion forced them to evacuate. Australia hosted a prominent Tiberium research facility before the research site was destroyed by the Black Hand. Rumors abound that the site was researching Liquid Tiberium and that a major detonation of Liquid Tiberium at the facility was the cause of its destruction and also accelerated the growth of Tiberium throughout Australia, speeding up its transformation into a Red Zone. Using the lessons learned in the Third Tiberium War against the Scrin, and gaining the extra funds needed, GDI developed many technologies in that timeline. This included the introduction of the Crawler and the revival of certain walker technologies such as the Mastodon and Titan walkers by the time of the Ascension Conflict to combat future alien incursions. Not wanting to allow any faction take over air superiority again, GDI also invested in capital ships such as the Kodiak class and the Global Stratospheric Transports to expand their air force that are capable of bombarding any static bases from the skies, as well as allowing for very quick response to threats, anywhere in the world. Gallery command-and-conquer-3-Kanes-wrath-strategies.jpg GDI Arsenal History * * * * See also Units within GDI * Steel Talons * ZOCOM Notable members * GDI Commander (TWIII) * Mark Jamison Sheppard * Nick Parker * James Solomon * Michael McNeil * Paul Cortez * Redmond Boyle * Jack Granger * Evelyn Rios * Wesley Riggs * Louise James * List of GDI members and affiliates Further intel * First Tiberium War archives References de:Globale Defensiv-Initiative ru:ГСБ Category:GDI Category:Tiberium universe factions Category:First factions